White House shapes up to give N Korea ‘bloody nose’ with attack
THE United States is drawing up plans for a “bloody nose” military attack on North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons programme, The Daily Telegraph understands.
The White House has “dramatically” stepped up preparation for a military solution in recent months amid fears diplomacy is not working, well-placed sources said. One option is destroying a launch site before it is used by the regime for a new missile test. Stockpiles of weapons could also be targeted.
The hope is that military force would show Kim Jong-un that America is “serious” about stopping further nuclear development and trigger negotiations.
Three sources – two former US officials familiar with current thinking and a third figure in the administration – confirmed military options were being worked up.
“The Pentagon is trying to find options that would allow them to punch the North Koreans in the nose, get their attention and show that we’re serious,” said one former US security official briefed on policy.
Donald Trump’s decision to bomb a Syrian government airfield earlier this year to defend the US’S “red line” on chemical weapons use is seen as a blueprint. Details have emerged after this newspaper talked to around a dozen current and former officials in America and Britain about policy towards North Korea. The conversations show that the Trump administration is more willing to consider military options to end the conflict than widely assumed.
It can be revealed that senior British diplomats fear the US has already begun a “step-by-step” military build-up in the region that could escalate.
Alastair Morgan, the UK ambassador to North Korea, visited Washington for behind-closed-doors talks about forcing the regime to the negotiating table last month. The UK is also urging South East Asian and African countries to expel some North Korean diplomats amid fears they are secretly financing the regime. Meanwhile, America wants North Korean ships to be stopped and searched amid fears they are being used to get around UN sanctions.
Pressure to act comes from the drop in estimated time it will take for North Korea to develop a missile that could hit the US with nuclear weapons.
Just a few years ago it was believed the regime was a decade away from that point, but now the figure has dropped to as little as 18 months. While Mr Trump has always said a “military option” is on the table, the administration’s focus has been on building economic and diplomatic pressure.
But Mr Kim’s refusal to negotiate has left senior White House figures disillusioned with diplomacy and increasingly considering military avenues.
One British source who recently attended a briefing with HR Mcmaster, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, and other officials left feeling alarmed.